Like the original Guitar Hero, the player uses a guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate the playing of rock music as notes scroll towards the player. Most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact, with new modes and note combinations being the major additions. The game features more than 40 popular licensed songs, many of them cover versions recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s).[3] The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II can be purchased individually or in a bundle that packages the game with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. The Xbox 360 version of the game is offered in a bundle that packages the game with a white Gibson X-Plorer guitar controller. Both of these controllers are wired, but RedOctane also sells a wireless controller for the PlayStation 2.[4]

Since its release, Guitar Hero II has been met with both critical and commercial success, helping the Guitar Hero series become a cultural phenomenon.[5] As of December 1, 2007, the game has sold 3.1 million copies.[6] It has spawned the "expansion" title Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2. A full-fledged sequel, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, has been released by Neversoft, the makers of the popular Tony Hawk series.[7] Harmonix, the previous developers of the Guitar Hero series, went on to produce Rock Band, a similar rhythm game that features guitar, bass, drum and microphone gameplay.

Development

The surprise success of Guitar Hero readily led to the development of a sequel for the game.[8] :According to developer John Tam, the team felt they "hit the sweet spot" of genres and decades within the set list and wanted to maintain that for the sequel.[8] The costs of obtaining licensing rights for music from "big bands" such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Metallica, in addition to the lack of understanding of how the music would be used prevented these groups from being used in Guitar Hero. However, Tam notes that with the success of Guitar Hero, "They understand that we're not going to embarrass their music, we're going to actually pay homage to their music and get it to the point where people are going to fall in love with their music and understand their music in a totally different way than they've ever experienced it before."[8] They also had requests by artists to include master tracks within the game.[8]

Guitar Hero II was originally announced for the PlayStation 2 on April 17, 2006.[10] A demo version of the PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II was released with issue #110 of Official PlayStation Magazine on October 5, 2006.[11][12] Features of the demo included four playable songs on four difficulty levels for single player and co-op modes. Demo releases do not feature the ability to flip the notes for left-handed players. Demo versions feature the songs "Shout at the Devil", "You Really Got Me", "Strutter" and "YYZ".[11] The demo featured slightly different note charts than the final release for some of the songs.[citation needed] The retail game was released for the PlayStation 2 on November 7, 2006 in North America, November 15, 2006 in Australia,[13] and November 30, 2006 in the United Kingdom and Europe.[14] It was released as both a stand-alone game and as a bundle containing the game and a cherry Gibson SG guitar controller.

Xbox 360 version

When Activision purchased RedOctane in 2006, the company expressed strong interest in bringing the Guitar Hero series to "every significant new format" in order to take advantage of the next generation of consoles.[15] The Xbox 360 version was announced on September 27, 2006 at Microsoft's X06.[16] Dusty Welch of RedOctane stated that the Xbox 360 "provides an incredible platform for facilitating downloadable content" due to the integrated hard drive on the console.[17] The Xbox 360 version of the game included 10 exclusive songs and additional content available for purchase through the Xbox Live Marketplace.[18]

The Xbox 360 version was released on April 3, 2007 in North America[19] and Australia,[20] and then on April 6, 2007 in Europe, only as a bundle containing the game and a wired Gibson X-Plorer guitar controller.[21]). It was released as a stand-alone game for the Xbox 360 in the UK on January 25, 2008.[22]

Gameplay

Gameplay is based on the successful formula created for the first Guitar Hero game; the player may use the guitar peripheral to play scrolling notes by holding the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and simultaneously pressing the strum bar. Alternatively, one can play with the DualShock 2 or Xbox 360 controller by using four shoulder buttons and a face button, mapped to specific fret keys.[23][24]

Several changes have been made to the gameplay mechanics for Guitar Hero II: hammer-on and pull-off functionality has been improved, and three note chords have been introduced, scored as triple points if played correctly. There are additional statistics available for a song upon completion, and the scores achieved in either Quick Play or Career mode are saved to the same in-game high-score list.[25] The handedness of the guitar can now be toggled from the Pause menu when playing a song (previously, this was only available from the game's main menu). For the Xbox 360 version, scores can also be compared with other players through Xbox Live via the Leaderboard feature, and there are 50 Achievements that can be earned in the game.[26][27]

Career mode

Xbox 360 version of the game displaying the scoring meter (left), the guitar fretboard (middle), and the Rock and Star Power Meters (right). This in-game screenshot is showing the Grim Ripper guitarist playing the song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In Career mode, players create a band name and select a guitarist from among the available characters. Eight characters, each representing a unique genre of rock music - are available from the start of the game: Eddie Knox, Axel Steel, Casey Lynch, Lars Ümlaüt, Izzy Sparks, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm, and Pandora.[28] Additional characters — Clive Winston, Xavier Stone and the Grim Ripper — can also be purchased, allowing them to be used in later sessions.

Only the lead guitar is available to be played in the Career mode. Over the course of the Career mode the band plays at eight available venues. The venue system from the original game has been altered slightly and has the band traveling geographically from town to town in order to play at the next arena. The venues are Nilbog High School, The Rat Cellar Pub, The Blackout Bar, The RedOctane Club, the Rock City Theater, the Vans Warped Tour, Harmonix Arena and Stonehenge.[29] The venues feature lighting and pyrotechnics that are synchronized with the music.[30]

Not all songs in the main setlist are available from the start. Once a song is unlocked for play within Career Mode, it becomes available for play in all other modes. When working through Career Mode at a specific difficulty level, the next tier of songs is unlocked once the required number of songs on the current tier (3-5, depending on difficulty and console) are completed. Additionally, the encore song for a particular tier is only made available once its requirements are completed. On the Easy difficulty setting, there are no encores available, but the next tier will be unlocked immediately after completing the required songs in the previous tier.[25]

Successful completion of a song on Medium or higher difficulty during Career mode will earn the player in-game cash. Higher difficulty levels[31] and better scoring performances are rewarded with more cash. In-game money can be used at The Store to buy various items. Some items are available only after completing all songs at higher difficulty levels or 5-star performances.[32] Within The Store, the player can purchase new Gibson guitars, guitar finishes, three additional characters, alternate outfits for the eight characters available from the start, bonus songs, and videos.[33] For unknown reasons, the bonus videos are absent from the PAL version of the game. Within the Xbox 360 version, there is also an option to access the Guitar Hero II content on the Xbox Live Marketplace.[26]

Multiplayer

In cooperative multiplayer, the two players share their score, Rock Meter, and Star Power. Screenshot from the PlayStation 2 version.

One player plays lead guitar while another plays either bass guitar or rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter, and streak multiplier. Cooperative mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. Star power can only be activated by both players simultaneously.

Face-Off

This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, though in Guitar Hero II both players can select their own level of difficulty. In this mode, players alternate between playing sections of the selected song. The scores are weighted so that a player who hits fewer notes on Easy difficulty may not necessarily lose against an opponent on Expert difficulty who hits more notes.

Pro Face-Off

Players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. For the PlayStation 2 mode, this is available upon completion of any career level,[35] while for the Xbox 360 version, the mode is unlocked after completing the career mode at Medium level or higher.[36] The score system is identical as the song could be played alone, but songs cannot be failed in this mode.

Although, online multiplayer was not available at the release of Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, RedOctane has stated that they hope to be able provide this later once they are able to work out the technical issues.[37]

Practice mode

Practice mode is a new addition to the game, allowing a player to practice certain sections of a song ("Verse 2," "Chorus," "Bridge 3," "Gtr Solo 4," etc.) on different difficulties and instruments.[38] Practice mode gives the player the ability to toggle the speed of the notes (Full Speed, Slow, Slower and Slowest) and does not stop a song no matter how many mistakes are made. Players can play the bass guitar lines on most songs. On others, a rhythm guitar line is available instead.[36]

Most of the songs featured in the main set list are cover versions, with the exception of "Stop!", "Possum Kingdom", "Dead!", and "John the Fisherman"; these four are based on master recordings. The unlockable bonus songs are all master recordings, including some specifically arranged for use within Guitar Hero II.[40] Cover songs are credited on screen with the phrase "as made famous by" (for example, "Heart-Shaped Box, as made famous by Nirvana"), while the original songs are credited with "as performed by" (for example, "John the Fisherman, as performed by Primus").

The band itself plays with Orange amps and DW drum kits, along with more in-game endorsements. When the player passes each set of songs in career mode, his/her band is rewarded with money and equipment endorsements, including Ernie Ball strings, Boss effects, Line 6 guitar amplifiers, VHT amplifiers, Mesa Boogie amplifiers, and Roland keyboards. These products then appear on stage while the band plays the ensuing setlists.[51]

The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II was welcomed with very positive reviews. It received a 10/10 review in the December 2006 issue of Official PlayStation Magazine and was awarded the Game of the Month award. The game received a rating of 9.5/10 from IGN,[54] ranking higher than the original game in the series and amongst IGN's highest rated PlayStation 2 games ever. IGN would later include it on their 2007 list of "The Top 100 Games of All Time" at #49. GameSpot reviewed the PlayStation 2 version with a rating of 8.7/10,[34] and the Xbox 360 version 8.9,[27] both slightly lower than its predecessor. Game Informer gave it a 9/10, while its "second opinion" rating was better, at 9.25/10. According to Game Rankings,[58] the average critic score of Guitar Hero II is 93%, making it the 9th best reviewed game of 2006.

The Xbox 360 version has earned similarly positive reviews and slightly higher scores with a 9.5/10 in the March issue of Official Xbox Magazine,[69] a 4.75/5 from GamePro, a 9.5/10 from Play Magazine a 9.4/10 from IGN, and a perfect score of 5/5 from Got-Next.[71] As of April 3, 2007, the Game Rankings score is 94%.[70] The popular G4 television show X-Play gave both versions of the game a 5/5. Additionally, the Australian Xbox Magazine has also awarded the game, for the first time, an 11/10, in a reference to This Is Spinal Tap. Hyper's Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "huge number of tracks" but criticises it for "some really average covers".[72]

Common praise for the game by critics is aimed at the new multiplayer and practice modes.[38] Common critiques concern the song list, which includes more hard rock and metal than the previous game, deeming it less accessible to casual players.[38] Other common critiques concern the quality of the covers.[27]

The downloadable song packs for the Xbox 360 version have been criticized for being too pricey. The price was seen by many fans of the series as being far too expensive and was met with resistance and angst with a large number of people pledging to boycott the content.[45] Microsoft's Xbox Live Director of Programming, Major Nelson, defending the pricing and release scheme, and attributed the high cost of the content to "licensing issues" on the Xbox 360 platform, as all contracts drawn up for songs from the original game had to be rewritten, since they are playable on an additional console.[73]

In 1UP.com's review for the Xbox 360 version of the game, the downloadable song packs are noted as a "mixed blessing"; praise is given for retooling the songs with better gameplay elements such as the inclusion of co-op modes, but the fact that the songs come in pricey packs of three "defeats much of the appeal".[38] In an interview with RedOctane president Kai Huang,[74] Huang stated that the decision to pack the songs in three was made to keep the cost of the tracks down. Though Huang felt the pricing was fair, he noted afterward "we do listen to the fans and take any feedback we receive seriously."

Sales

In December 2006, Guitar Hero II for PlayStation 2 was the second best-selling video game of the month,[75] selling 805,200 units. It was outsold only by Gears of War for Xbox 360, which sold 815,700 units.[75] It was the fifth best-selling video game of the fiscal year of 2006, with 1.3 million copies sold. It was also the third best-selling game for the PlayStation 2, behind Madden NFL 07 and Kingdom Hearts II.[75] Total sales of the game during 2006 were $200 million.[76]

On July 12, 2007, Dusty Welch of RedOctane stated that there have been over 300,000 downloads of the music packs until that point and that the prices were "very attractive and desirable for consumers."[77] On September 11, 2007, Activision reported that with over 650,000 downloads, the music packs qualified as "multi-platinum" under RIAA's definitions.[78]

Technical issues

No official statement from RedOctane or Activision has been made about the discs or the game itself having any issues, but players have reported songs freezing or skipping, causing the audio to be unsynchronized; unusually long loading screens; and menus that freeze or lock up entirely causing the game to crash. The RedOctane Support Center Answer Guide states, "We’re already in the process of looking into this and testing to replicate the experience. We’ll notify everyone with our results shortly, and will have a positive resolution if need be."[79]

Two models of the X-Plorer controller were released for the Xbox 360 version of the game: model numbers 95055 and 95065. Of the two versions, the 95055 has an RJ-11 jack for effect pedals near the controller cord and is subject to having an unresponsive whammy bar. RedOctane later responded, saying that they "isolated this issue to two model numbers that can be found on the guitar's packaging". Customers are able to exchange these models for new models.[80]

On April 13, 2007, Activision revealed that the issue was not a problem with the hardware, and that the guitars were not defective. The cause of the problem was anti-cheat protection software, and Activision released a patch on Xbox Live on April 14, 2007 to remedy it.[81] However, this patch may have caused some unintended side effects. Starting on April 16, 2007, numerous users began reporting lockups and failures of their system after downloading and installing this patch. RedOctane stated, "We're aware of the problem and we're looking into it."[82]

Numerous game players have also reported problems with static shocks to the X-Plorer guitars causing various fret buttons (usually the green one) to permanently malfunction. Multiple exchanges of guitars have not solved the problem, as exchanged guitars also exhibit the problem. To date, RedOctane has not solved the problem, and has refused to extend warranties to replacement guitars, time limiting the warranty back to the original date of purchase.[83]

Guitar Hero II is a guitar simulation rhythm
game made by Harmonix, and the sequel to Guitar Hero. The game
is played using a scaled plastic guitar, which comes with the game.
The PlayStation 2 version is bundled with a cherry red Gibson SG
(although any PS2 Guitar Hero peripheral will also work), while the
Xbox 360 version comes bundled with a white Gibson X-Plorer (again,
the wireless 360 controller packaged with GH3 will work). Also, the
PS2 version will work with a standard PS2 Dualshock controller.

The basic idea behind the game is to watch a scrolling fretboard
onscreen and press the buttons on the guitar controller according
to the colored notes on the screen, while strumming. Of course,
this is easy enough in the early songs and difficulties, but later
on in the game, you will be required to learn advanced techniques
such as keeping pace with the rhythm of the song while playing the
notes (including some songs with very erratic tempos) and hammering
on notes (playing notes without strumming). Anyone can pick up the
game and play through Easy and Medium without much of a problem,
but true Guitar Heroes will need to really practice to perfect
their skills at Hard and Expert modes.

Among the classical rock songs you can play in this game are
covers of Sweet Child O' Mine, Carry On Wayward Son, You Really Got
Me, Strutter, and even the legendary song Free Bird by Lynyrd
Skynyrd. In addition, there are over 20 bonus songs in the game
that are all master tracks recorded by the original artists. The
most famous of these bonus tracks is Jordan by Buckethead. Being
able to beat this song is one of the most difficult challenges in
this game. And if the bonus songs weren't enough, Xbox 360 users
get a different setlist from PS2 users with exclusive songs, and
online play with players around the world.

Guitar Hero II is a music game developed by Harmonix and is a direct sequel to the popular Guitar Hero. It was first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006 and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007. The Xbox 360 port has content not featured in the PlayStation 2 version,[1] along with a new controller, modeled after a Gibson X-plorer.

Editions and Bundles

Two bundles were released for the game: the PlayStation 2 bundle, (pictured below) and the Xbox 360 bundle. The PlayStation 2 bundle was packaged with a Gibson SG controller, while the Xbox 360 bundle was packaged with a Gibson X-Plorer controller.

Features

The Guitar

The Guitar controller packaged with the PlayStation 2 is modeled after a Gibson SG. It features five fret buttons, a whammy bar, a strumming bar, and is cherry red in color. The controller packaged with the Xbox 360 version of the game is modeled after a Gibson X-plorer. It features everything that the SG controller does, but has an Xbox guide button and it is white in color.

Sound

Track List

Guitar Hero 2 has a massive 64 playable tracks, 26 of which are the original songs (Stop!, John the Fisherman, and the 24 unlockable songs).

Main setlist

1. Opening Licks

"Shout at the Devil" - Mötley Crüe

"Mother" - Danzig

"Surrender" - Cheap Trick

"Woman" - Wolfmother

"Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" - Spinal Tap (Encore)

2. Amp-Warmers

"Strutter" - KISS

"Heart-Shaped Box" - Nirvana

"Message in a Bottle" - The Police

"You Really Got Me" - Van Halen

"Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas (Encore)

3. String-Snappers

"Monkey Wrench" - Foo Fighters

"Them Bones" - Alice in Chains

"Search and Destroy" - Iggy Pop and The Stooges

"Tattooed Love Boys" - The Pretenders

"War Pigs" - Black Sabbath (Encore)

4. Thrash and Burn

"Cherry Pie" - Warrant

"Who Was in My Room Last Night?" - Butthole Surfers

"Girlfriend" - Matthew Sweet

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - The Rolling Stones

"Sweet Child O'Mine" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)

5. Return of the Shred

"Killing in the Name" - Rage Against the Machine

"John the Fisherman" - Primus

"Freya" - The Sword

"Bad Reputation" - Thin Lizzy

"Last Child" - Aerosmith (Encore)

6. Relentless Riffs

"Crazy on You" - Heart

"Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart" - Stone Temple Pilots

"Rock This Town" - Stray Cats

"Jessica" - The Allman Brothers Band

"Stop!" - Jane's Addiction (Encore)

7. Furious Fretwork

"Madhouse" - Anthrax

"Carry Me Home" - The Living End

"Laid to Rest" - Lamb of God

"Psychobilly Freakout" - The Reverend Horton Heat

"YYZ" - Rush (Encore)

8. Face-Melters

"Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged Sevenfold

"Institutionalized" - Suicidal Tendencies

"Misirlou" - Dick Dale

"Hangar 18" - Megadeth

"Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd (Encore)

Bonus tracks

"Raw Dog" - The Last Vegas (Winner of the "Be a Guitar Hero" Contest)

"Arterial Black" - Drist

"Collide" - Anarchy Club

"Elephant Bones" - That Handsome Devil

"Fall of Pangea" - Valient Thorr

"FTK" - Vagiant

"Gemini" - Brian Kahanek

"Push Push (Lady Lightning)" - Bang Camaro

"Laughtrack" - The Acro-brats

"Less Talk More Rokk" - Freezepop

"Jordan" - Buckethead

"Mr. Fix-it" - The Amazing Royal Crowns

"The New Black" - Every Time I Die

"One for the Road" - Breaking Wheel

"Parasite" - The Neighborhoods

"Radium Eyes" - Count Zero

"Red Lottery" - Megasus

"Six" - All That Remains

"Soy Bomb" - Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives

"The Light That Blinds" - Shadows Fall

"Thunderhorse" - Dethklok

"Trogdor" - Strong Bad

"X-Stream" - Voivod

"Yes We Can" - Made in Mexico

Characters

Gameplay

Guitar Hero II is based on the successful formula created for the first Guitar Hero game; the player may use the guitar peripheral to play scrolling notes by holding the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and simultaneously pressing the strum bar. Alternatively, one can play with the DualShock 2 or Xbox 360 controller by using 4 shoulder buttons and a face button, mapped to specific fret keys.

Several changes have been made to the gameplay mechanics for Guitar Hero II: hammer-on and pull-off functionality has been improved, and three note chords have been introduced, scored as triple points if played correctly. There are additional statistics available for a song upon completion, and the scores achieved in either Quick Play or Career mode are saved to the same in-game high-score list. The handedness of the guitar can now be toggled from the Pause menu when playing a song (previously, this was only available from the game's main menu). For the Xbox 360 version, scores can also be compared with other players through Xbox Live via the Leaderboard feature, and there are 50 Achievements that can be earned in the game.

Scoring

1 note=50 points 2 note Chord=100 3 note Chord=150

Star Power is necessary to scoring and the game itself. One activate which by tilting the Guitar upwards once the Star Power meter is half full, or above. Star power can multiply 0 to 2x, 2x to 4x, 3x to 6x, or 4x to 8x. It also greatly increases the Rock meter which is useful when one is beginning to fail.

Play modes

Career

The object of career mode is to progress through a series of tiers, each containing five songs. When every song in a tier is completed, the next tier is unlocked, until the final tier is beaten.

Quick Play

In Quick Play, a player simply chooses the song he or she wishes to play, their optimal difficulty, and immediately plays the song.

Practice

Practice is new to Guitar Hero II. In practice, players can play songs or sections of songs without the prospect of failing. Players can also choose to slow songs down to make it easier.

Multiplayer

There are three different multiplayer modes available:

Cooperative

One player plays lead guitar while another plays either bass guitar or rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter, and streak multiplier. Cooperative mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. Star power can only be activated by both players simultaneously.

Face-Off

This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, though in Guitar Hero II both players can individually select their level of difficulty. In this mode, players alternate between playing sections of each song. The scores are weighted so that a player who hits less notes on Easy difficulty may not necessarily lose against an opponent on Expert difficulty who hits more notes.

Pro Face-Off

Players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. For the PlayStation 2 mode, this is available upon completion of any career level,[2] while for the Xbox 360 version, the mode is unlocked after completing the career mode at Medium level or higher.[3] The score system is identical as the song could be played alone, but songs cannot be failed in this mode.

While online multiplayer was not available at the release of Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, RedOctane has stated that they hope to be able provide this later once they are able to work out the technical issues.

Reception and awards

Impact and legacy

Related Games

Footnotes

Trivia

Some of the loading screens prior to a song are jokes and references specific to that song; for example, before encores, it tells the player never to "just jam" when the audience wants an encore (a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap), while prior to "Jordan", the player is told that wearing a bucket on one's head won't improve one's performance, a direct reference to the song's artist, Buckethead.

The drummer spontaneously combusting at the end of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" is a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap, from which the song originates.

The scrolling text on the walls of the school venue contains various lyrics to Alice Cooper's "School's Out".

The chalkboard in the loading screen has various jokes relating to the game on it.

Prior to playing "Free Bird", the loading screen may say, "FINE. They're NOT just heckling you this time. SIGH.", a reference to a loading screen in the original Guitar Hero that read, "They don't really want you to play 'Freebird,' they're just heckling you.", itself a reference to a common joke in musician culture.[50]

The loading screen "Throw your undies on the stage, no wait you're underage." displayed whenever playing "Less Talk More Rokk" by Freezepop, is a reference (specifically, a lyric) to the song "Super Sprøde", which is a bonus song by Freezepop in the Harmonix PlayStation 2 rhythm game Amplitude.

Clive Winston will use a violin bow to play his guitar when star power is activated with him. This is a tribute to several guitarists, most famously Jimmy Page, who would often do the same thing during performances.

Xavier Stone will sometimes pick his guitar with his teeth when using star power in homage to Jimi Hendrix.

In the sound options section, everything can be turned up to 11, in reference to Spinal Tap.

In Practice mode, the bedroom has many Rolling Stones references. A Their Satanic Majesties Request poster, Let It Bleed album, and a poster of the band themselves in the far right corner.

Clive Winston often lights his guitar on fire at the end of a performance, a reference to Jimi Hendrix's onstage antics.

At the end of the credits there is a hail to Dimebag Darrell, ex-guitarist of Pantera, who was shot on-stage while performing with his then current band, Damageplan.

In the Nilbog high school venue, the clock reads 6:66, the Number of the Beast, a reference to the Iron Maiden song of the same title.

Easter Eggs

On the loading screen, you can see a cherry next to a pi symbol on the chalkboard. This is a reference to the song Cherry Pie, which appears in the game.

The Stonehenge venue is most likely a reference to a scene in This Is Spinal Tap, in which a performance of their song "Stonehenge" goes awry.

The high school is Nilbog High, which is Goblin spelled backwards, a reference to the movie Troll 2.

The sixth tier is named after the real-life Vans Warped Tour.

On the floor of the Harmonix Arena there is a sign that says "the end is nigh!", like those held by street preachers.

Similarly, on the floor of the Harmonix Arena, there is also a chalk marking of Buckethead on the floor. This is a reference to his "Crime Slunk Scene" album.